The overall objectives of this program are to study the fundamental events that occur in the traumatized spinal cord which lead to hemorrhagic necrosis and permanent loss of function, and to seek methods ameliorating this process. These studies have been undertaken by a cooperative multi-disciplinary group including the Division of Neurological Surgery, Division of Neurology, and the departments of Pharmacology, Neuropathology, Aero/Astronautical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Anatomy and Physiological Chemistry. Systematic and local changes resulting from spinal cord injury produced in animals have been studied using techniques which include fluorescent microscopy and electron microscopy. Blood flow studies, the development of assay methods, enzyme analysis, and computer-averaged potentials are also under way. This work will continue, using the primary objectives stated above, in the year ahead.